Pakistan leader accused of raping minor Hindu girl

A 14-year-old Hindu girl was allegedly raped by a local leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) near Umerkot.

According to reports, the suspect forcibly entered the victim's house in Mubarak Tarr village, which is 35 kilometres from Chachro, along with two other men. He tortured the victim's mother first and then raped the girl, while his accomplices guarded the door, reports The Express Tribune.

Since the suspect belongs to an influential family, the victim's family failed to receive proper shelter, the paper said.

The victim's father and other community members went to Chachro taluka hospital for a medical checkup, but the doctors refused to carry it out without an FIR. When the father asked the police to file an FIR, they also refused, the paper said.

The victim's father called it an injustice against his daughter.

However, after being pressured by journalists, the Chachro police registered an FIR against the suspect and his two accomplices.

The victim, her father and the rest of her family staged a sit-in outside MNA Mahesh Malhani's house. The whole family threatened to set themselves on fire.

Swaziland bans mini skirts

Police in Africa’s last absolute monarchy Swaziland have banned women from wearing miniskirts and midriff-revealing tops saying they provoke rape, local media reported. Offenders face a six-month jail term under the ban, which invokes a colonial criminal act dating back to 1889.

“The act of the rapist is made easy, because it would be easy to remove the half-cloth worn by the women,” a police spokeswoman was quoted as saying. AFP, MBABANE